Sarasotas Sauteed Cucumbers With Pan Seared Tilapia Recipes

PAN-SEARED TILAPIA

Steps:

• To make the salsa: Stir the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro together in a small bowl. Stir in the lime juice, olive oil and chile. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place in the refrigerator to chill while preparing the fish.
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
• Pour enough canola oil into a large frying pan to generously coat the bottom. Heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
• While the oil is heating, season as many of the fillets as will fit in the pan comfortably with salt and pepper. Dredge the seasoned fillets in flour to coat both sides and shake off the excess flour. Carefully slip the coated snapper into the hot oil and give the pan a little shake to prevent sticking. Cook until lightly golden on the underside side, about 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and cook until the thickest part of the fillets are opaque at the center, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining fillets, adding more oil to the pan, if necessary.
• Serve warm, passing the tomato salsa separately.

PAN-SEARED TILAPIA

Steps:

• Rinse tilapia fillets in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow dish; gently press each fillet into the flour to coat and shake off the excess flour.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; cook the tilapia in the hot oil until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes per side. Brush the melted butter onto the tilapia in the last minute before removing from the skillet. Serve immediately.

SARASOTA'S FRESH SEARED TILAPIA WITH LEMON CREAM

Steps:

• Optional Rice -- If you are planning to make the rice, start now. Any rice - any method you want. Once it is finished, move to the back burner and stir in the butter, lemon juice, scallions, salt and pepper and mix well. Keep it covered while you make the sauce and fish. As the rice was cooking, start the sauce.
• Sauce -- To a small sauce pot, add the cream, flour, thyme, and lemon zest and bring to medium heat. Let the cream simmer 10 minutes. It will naturally reduce. Once the sauce is done. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and parsley.
• Fish -- Make sure your fillets are not icy cold. Remove from the refrigerator to let them warm up a bit before cooking them. Season each fillet well with salt and pepper on both sides. Sprinkle each side of the fish lightly with flour. I just use my small strainer which works perfect, but you can also just sprinkle it on with your hand. It is a light dusting is all.
• Cook -- In a large saute pan, bring the pan up to medium high heat and add the butter and olive oil. Add the fish and the lemon slices. The lemon slices can cook right next to the fish. Cook the fish until golden brown on the first side and then flip.The fish will probably only take 3-4 minutes per side. Don't over cook.
• Serve -- Fluff up the rice that is finished on the back burner. Serve 3/4-1 cup of rice on each plate, top with a fish fillet and 2 lemon slices, and drizzle with the lemon cream sauce. A light easy recipe. ENJOY!

PAN SEARED LEMON TILAPIA WITH PARMESAN PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over medium heat, stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook the macaroni uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it is cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of the tilapia fillets with lemon juice, oregano, basil, cilantro, salt, and pepper, and lay the fillets in the heated skillet, making sure they don't touch. Sear the fillets for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, until the fish is golden brown on the outside, and opaque and flaky inside.
• Return the hot, cooked macaroni to the saucepan, and stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat the pasta. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese, stir to mix, and stir in 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, the garlic powder, basil, oregano, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Divide the pasta between two plates, and top each with a tilapia fillet.

SARASOTA'S SAUTEED CUCUMBERS WITH PAN SEARED TILAPIA

Steps:

• Cucumbers -- Peel and cut cucumbers. Remember, seedless cucumbers, although they call them seedless, have some seeds, I do a light scoop to remove any seeds, but it is NOT necessary. If you can't find a seedless cucumbers, You will need 2 large cucumbers, as they have a lot more seeds that you would need to take out. Just use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Once the seeds are removed, cut into 1/4" half moons. I just lay them out on a paper towel to dry out. I don't worry about salting them.
• Fish -- Prepare the fish first by removing them from the refrigerator to take the chill off. In a small pie plate or dish, mix the flour, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper and lightly dredge the fish. Set on a plate off to the side while you start your cucumbers. Both the cucumbers and the fish take just a few minutes, so make sure to have everything ready.
• Cucumber Saute -- In a medium saute pan, I prefer a non stick pan for this, medium high heat, melt the butter and and add in the shallots. Saute for 1 minute, Then add in the wine and cook another minute. Add in the cucumbers, capers and cook 2 minutes. Then reduce to medium low heat and add the sour cream, and season with salt, pepper and dill. Stir to combine to warm up the sour cream and transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
• Fish -- Now in the same pan, just wipe it out and add 1-2 tablespoons butter and bring to medium high to high heat. Add the fish and cook 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown. They cook very quickly. The second side will usually cook much quicker. Now remember, cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of the fish.
• Serve -- Remember the half of lemon we didn't slice; squeeze a little lemon over each fillet and top with the warm cucumbers and garnish with a lemon slice. ENJOY!